The market may be up over 5% since the start of the year, but a number of shares have performed materially better.
Three ASX shares that have just hit 52-week highs or better are listed below. Here's why they are flying high:
Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)
The Collins Foods share price hit a record high of $11.59 today. When the quick service restaurant operator's shares reached that level, they were up 21% since the start of the year. Investors have been buying the company's shares since the release of its half year results late last year. Strong demand led to the company reporting an 11.3% increase in revenue compared to the prior corresponding period to $499.6 million. And on the bottom line, underlying net profit after tax came in 15.1% higher at $27.5 million. Collins Foods is due to release its full year results next month. Judging by its share price performance, Investors appear to be expecting a strong result.
Kathmandu Holdings Ltd (ASX: KMD)
The Kathmandu share price climbed to a 52-week high of $1.49 on Monday. Investors have been buying the adventure retailer's shares since the release of a strong half year result in March. For the six months ended 31 January, Kathmandu reported a 12.9% increase in sales to NZ$410 million and a 19% jump in operating earnings to NZ$48 million. A key driver of this growth was its Rip Curl business, which has helped diversify its offering. Particularly in respect to seasonality.
Moelis Australia Ltd (ASX: MOE)
The Moelis share price reached a 52-week high of $5.85 earlier today. The catalyst for this was the release of the fund manager's operational update last week. According to the release, during the first four months FY 2021, Moelis has achieved strong net fund inflows of $340 million and grown its assets under management by 7% to $5.8 billion. In addition to this, the company reaffirmed that it expects to report underlying earnings per share growth of 10% to 20% in FY 2021.
